Missing Link: Kuball installation commemorates synagogue
Conceptual artist Mischa Kuball is commemorating the central synagogue in Düsseldorf, which was set on fire by SA men 85 years ago, with a light installation. From this Thursday until March 2024, the installation "missing link_" will light up the spot where the Nazis set fire to the magnificent building on Pogrom Night 1938. It will also commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.
"With this installation, we are shining a light on this violently destroyed site," said Düsseldorf's Lord Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU). "The fire department was ordered not to extinguish the fire," said Kuball. He had spoken to people who had worked in the office building erected on the site for 20 years without knowing the history of the place. The underline in the title of the installation stands for recklessness and quick forgetting.
From this Thursday, November 9, 2023, the temporary light installation will be presented on Kasernenstraße. It focuses on the memory of the city's central synagogue, which was destroyed under National Socialism, and its Jewish community. In addition to the installation on site, an app provides information, historical images and eyewitness accounts.
The Great Synagogue in Düsseldorf was completed in 1904 and completely destroyed in the course of the November pogroms in 1938. The ruins were demolished shortly afterwards. After the war, the site was initially used as a parking lot. The new synagogue was built in another part of the city. A memorial has stood on the site of the old synagogue since 1983.
The light installation "missing link_" by Mischa Kuball not only illuminates the historical site of the destroyed synagogue, but also serves as a tribute to the rich Art and Historical context of Judaism in Düsseldorf. The installation, with its underlying message of recklessness and quick forgetting, encourages visitors to delve deeper into the city's Jewish History and Art.
Source: www.dpa.com
